The strangest thing about Netflix’s Stranger Things games is that they’re actually pretty good

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Netflix has joined the list of other tech giants to try their hands at the gaming market. The company has been talking about games for a while now, and the games have finally made their way to Android, with plans to come to iOS soon.

Starting earlier this week, the company is actually rolling out the games as part of the Netflix app so you won’t have to find the games in the Play Store.

Netflix does require that you have an active subscription to its streaming service in order to play the games. That aspect is what will make the games’ integration into the Netflix mobile app much more appealing.

I had a chance to get my hands on all five of the games that Netflix is currently offering. Right now, Netflix subscribers get access to two original Stranger Things games based on the service’s hit TV show of the same name. To kick things off, Netflix also added three additional games that fit more into the traditional mobile gaming arcade genre.

Netflix’s Stranger Things games are actually pretty good

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To be honest, I went into these games with not a lot of hope. I personally never got around to watching Stranger Things beyond the first couple of episodes because it didn’t really grip me for whatever reason. Still, I know how popular the show was and I thought it would be difficult to make a compelling mobile game, especially for a company new to the gaming world.

But I’ve been pleasantly surprised so far. The first game I tried was Stranger Things: 1984. The game starts out as you playing Officer Hopper as he searches for the kids. As you find the kids around the map, they’re added to your party, giving you a nice team that you can build up.

Gameplay is pretty fun for a mobile game. It’s a top-down pixelized adventure RPG. It has simple touchscreen controls, and combat that’s fun and challenging without being too difficult. I haven’t completed the game yet, but I like the party building and using different characters to perform different tasks and solve puzzles around the map.

But Stranger Things 3 The Game is the real winner from me

Then I tried out Stranger Things 3 The Game (ST3TG), and I was extremely impressed with this one. The gameplay in the two games is similar, but the stories are pretty different. In ST3TG, you start out as Mike, instead of Hopper, and you’ve got to explore around to find the rest of the crew and build your party up.

The main difference that I noticed so far in Netflix’s two Stranger Things games is that you have two characters on the map at one time in ST3TG, instead of the one at a time that you get in Stranger Things: 1984. This allows for some cool party builds, like having a tough, melee character running out front while your high-damage ranged fighter hangs out in the back.

ST3TG features classic RPG mechanics, like character building, item crafting, and side quests. I haven’t gotten very far in ST3TG yet because I’ve been spending a lot of time helping the lifeguard, Billy, have an affair with Karen, who I think might be my mother. Also, there seems to be something weird going on with the mayor, but I haven’t gotten into all of that quite yet.

So far, I’m enjoying ST3TG a lot, even though I don’t know the story from the television show. I’ve got to say, though, I love how my boy Will just wants to chill out and play some Dungeons & Dragons. We should all be like Will.

Netflix’s games are more like traditional mobile arcade games

Netflix also released three additional games to kickstart its gaming venture this week. Those three games are more similar to other mobile arcade-style games and have nothing to do with the company’s television shows.

There’s one where you race against the clock to build the best poker hands you can as you are fed an endless stream of playing cards. That one could be a fun way to kill some time while you’re in a waiting room or something like that.

I also tried one called Shooting Hoops where you have to score a basketball by hitting it with a projectile and those are 5 minutes that I’ll never get back. Some people might use that game to kill some time as well, but it’s definitely not my cup of tea.

Teeter (Up) is the last of Netflix’s games and it has the player lifting two sides of a platform to try and score a ball into a hole. It features several levels with interesting obstacles and tricks, and it’s definitely the best out of the three other games that Netflix has to offer so far.

Personally, I’m not a huge fan of traditional mobile games, and the three additional games from Netflix didn’t really hit on much for me. But there are no in-app purchases, so they could definitely be appealing to some.

As for the two Stranger Things games, I was extremely impressed. I must say, I didn’t have a lot of faith in Netflix’s ability to move into the gaming world. But if it continues to deliver interesting and original games like the two Stranger Things titles that it has on offer now, the company has a really good chance to succeed in the gaming world.

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